William Bernhardt, Capital Threat

Capital Threat

William Bernhardt

Ballantine, March 2007, $25.95, 400 pp.

ISBN 0345470176

When the Senator from Oklahoma dies while in office, the governor of that state appoints renowned defense attorney Ben Kincaid to replace him. He is doing his best to navigate the treacherous waters of Congress because he has never been interested in politics.

There is a vacancy on the Supreme Court and the outgoing Republican president nominates Thaddeus Roush to fill the position. Everyone is surprised when Thad takes the opportunity to tell the world he is gay. The Republicans want him defeated and the Democrats want him to become the next justice on the Supreme Court. At a press conference at his home, a woman is found murdered and Thad's lover is standing over the body. Although it looks like he will lose, the Democrats, especially Ben, act as his advocates at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and during the time leading up to it. The Republicans run a very dirty campaign and it is only Ben's eloquent speech that gets him the committee's approval. When certain events in Thad's past are made public, Ben realizes that there is a conspiracy to keep him off the bench so Ben mounts a defense for a very good man.

Politics can get down and dirty and William Bernhardt shows just how ugly it can get in CAPITAL THREAT. The sad part is many readers will have no trouble believing the conspiracy, the murder, and the truly vicious smear campaigns as an everyday occurrence on Capitol Hill and elsewhere. The hero is his usual heroic self as he fights to help a good person defeat enemies he never knew he had. Mr. Bernhardt has proven time and time again that he is a great storyteller.

Harriet Klausner